but going over the fiscal cliff is serious business. and i'm here seriously trying to resolve it. and i would hope the white house would get serious as well. >> reporter: house democratic leader nancy pelosi quickly dismissed boehner's remarks as a negotiating maneuver. >> i think they'll come around. it's a tactic. it's a tactic. >> reporter: but you hear a strikingly similar message from other top democratic leaders saying the ball is in the republicans' court. >> we are waiting for some specifics somewhere from our republican colleagues to show that they're serious on negotiations. >> reporter: as the country fast approaches the fiscal cliff, the two sides are talking past each other. democrats say they've laid down their marker hiking tax rates on wealthier americans. and it's up to republicans to propose specific spending cuts they want to entitlement programs. however, republicans say they've offered a concession putting revenue on the table. and they say it's now up to the president and his fellow democrats to feel some pain and propose cuts in medicare and medicaid. confu